“ I just know that life is fuller when you say yes as much as you can.” 

-Dr. Andrea McCloskey

I talked with Dr. Andrea McCloskey in early March after an in-person masked and social distanced day of a class called CI 297J, or Special Topics *Inter Domain*, a course she began offering at Penn State in 2021 and plans to offer each spring. The course objective is to use improv to form connections and truly know what the classic, “We Are, Penn State!” chant means to us. Here are some highlights of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.

Loren Perry: What got you into improv? 

Dr. Andrea McCloskey: I had always been interested in stand-up comedy, liked watching SNL, and listened to podcasts; I even took a few stand-up classes. I guess it was a mini midlife crisis. Seeing my daughter grow up, I was noticing perfectionist tendencies that I have too— If you’re not perfect at something, you don’t even try it. So I wanted to model that for her—trying new things, signing up for something that seems scary but fun. And not worrying, not letting fear stop me. 

LP: I think that’s a beautiful thing, relating it to your daughter. That’s cool that you saw that and did something. I think that perfectionism drives women; we’re just consumed with the idea of being perfect at everything. Tell me about Happy Valley Improv.

AM: It’s a company I founded, and I’m one of four people who own it. 

LP: Look at you, businesswoman!

AM: I started it because I wanted a place to play with other people. The point is to grow a little community here of people who want to do it. There are a lot of cool people who I just wanted to meet. I intersect with my neighbors and my church community whom I love, but I knew there had to be other creative people that I was missing.

LP: Exactly. Do you get nervous [to perform]? 

AM: I do get nervous before I give a talk or presentation when I’m teaching a new class or giving a lecture to a group that I don’t know. I thought drinking would be what we do to calm nerves. I asked my team, “So we’re gonna go out for drinks to loosen up, right?” And they told me, no, you don’t do that. You need to be sharp, and if you’re nervous, you’ve got to feel those feelings. I grew up playing piano, but I thought that got to be too much. I was nervous but not the good kind. The whole point of piano it seemed like is to not mess up. And I thought, what is the point of that?

LP: Right, that’s not human at all. What was creating an improv class at PSU like?

AM: It never would have occurred to me to offer this. But I saw they were looking to develop new interdomain courses that satisfy certain requirements, so I went after it. I thought people would be asking things like, “what is the point of this class? Are you sure it’s rigorous enough?” I was ready for those questions. I had good answers, I think.

LP: We’ve been reading a lot in class from the book, “Yes, and”, what do you think is the most valuable lesson from this text? 

AM: I think about this all the time. People are always interested in the limits of improv. They’ll be like, “what about when people are wrong?” And I totally get it, but I just know that life is fuller when you say yes, as much as you can. 

LP: You’re a perfect example of why people should do new things. It’s never too late to start. How do you think improv will affect us in our careers?

AM: I just hope it plants a seed in people to seek out joy and try new things. People talk about improv as developing confidence. The word “confidence” to me means being loud, cocky, and overall male jerkiness. But I’d rather think of it more as I’m comfortable, I’m not the best, but I belong here and you belong here and everyone belongs. It’s about kindness, not entitlement. I read a study that laughter stops for people at age 23. So, I hope people can hold on to joy. We’re gonna need it to get through all of this. To me, laughter is important. The world doesn’t need brilliant people or like, amazingly skilled people, the world just needs people who are fully alive 

Andrea McCloskey is an associate professor of mathematics education at Penn State. Before that, she was a middle and high school mathematics teacher in Ohio and Indiana. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction at Indiana University in Bloomington. Her research focuses on teacher preparation and development, cultural influences on classroom practices in elementary school mathematics, and ways that improvisational theater can critique current practices and point to new ways of understanding mathematical activity in classroom settings. She is also a founding owner of Happy Valley Improv, a long-form improvisational theater company in State College.

By: Loren Perry,  Nonfiction Editor and Social Media Coordinator

Loren Perry is a sophomore at Penn State University majoring in Secondary English Education with a minor in English. This semester, she is serving as Klio’s Nonfiction Editor as well as the Social Media Coordinator. She grew up about twenty minutes outside of Pittsburgh, PA, and is a member of Alpha Phi sorority. Writing has always been a passion of hers and remains her favorite way to express herself. One day, she hopes to be an educator that not only teaches content but also is a strong advocate for students everywhere. In Loren’s spare time, she enjoys watching Tiktok and YouTube, as well as singing and dancing. She also loves getting herself out of her comfort zone and meeting new people!